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ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL – (APRIL 30, 2019) – Many asthmatic children think they are using their inhaler medications for asthma properly while they're not. This makes it very difficult to control their asthma. A new study in Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergies, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), revealed that African-American schoolchildren and their parents had an unexpected confidence in their inhaler technique for asthma.
"We have learned from previous studies that parents and children overestimate children's ability to properly use their inhaler," says Anna Volerman, MD, lead author of the study. "We examined whether the parents' and the child 's confidence was the same and whether one or the other was a good sign of the child' s actual ability to use the child correctly. We found that most parents and children overestimated the ability of the child on the basis of great confidence on the part of the child – despite its misuse. "
The study was conducted among 65 couples of parents and children from four chartered public schools in Chicago. The age range of the children was 8 to 14 years, most were men and 90% were African American. Most parents (80%) were women. Almost all children (97%) misused their inhaler. A child has demonstrated his mastery. A small proportion of children and parents matched their confidence with their child's technique. Five per cent of children who had confidence in their inhalation technique used their inhaler without misuse, while 4% of children whose parents were confident were using their inhaler correctly. None of the parents underestimated the children's skills.
"It's not enough that an allergist or other health care provider asks a child or their parents if the child knows how to use an inhaler," says allergist Todd Mahr, chairperson. of ACAAI. "Just asking is not a reliable screening tool to determine who needs additional training on how to properly use an inhaler. If your child has asthma, check out your allergist to make sure he has the proper inhalation technique. Bring the inhaler with you to your home. next appointment and ask your allergist or a member of their staff to watch your child take it. "
The results of the study showed that parents were perhaps less accurate in predicting the inhalation capacity of their child than their child. The authors thought that the potential reasons could be children's daily experience with inhalers, lack of parental knowledge about proper inhalation technique or limited supervision of care by parents.
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If asthma is holding your child, find an allergist near you who can help you create a personal plan to help him lead the life he wants to live. The ACAAI Allergy Locator can help you find an allergist in your area.
About ACAAI
ACAAI is a professional medical organization with more than 6,000 allergists-immunologists and other health professionals. Its head office is in Arlington Heights, Illinois. The College promotes a culture of collaboration and friendliness in which its members work together and with others for the purpose of care, education, advocacy and research. The ACAAI allergists are board-certified physicians trained to diagnose allergies and asthma, administer immunotherapy and provide patients with the best treatment results. For more information and to find help, visit AllergyandAsthmaусск.org. Join us on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.
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